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Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set drama about political polarization “Fjord” has won the Palme d’Or. The Cannes Film Festival’s top honor on Saturday went for the second time to the Romanian director of “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” This year’s edition of the festival saw few films breakout but “Fjord” found wide admiration for its engrossing tale of what Mungiu called “left-wing fundamentalism.” The film stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as Romanian Evangelicals who move to Norway, but soon after have their children taken from them by child services for spanking them.

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Sprawling action movies with aliens do not generally compete for the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or. But Na Hong-jin’s “Hope” is not your average science fiction. Few movies were more anticipated in Cannes. It’s been 10 years since Na’s last film, the well-regarded 2016 thriller “The Wailing.” While some of Na’s fellow Korean genre masters, like Bong Joon Ho, have found global renown, for many cinephiles, Na is overdue for the kind of global introduction a Cannes premiere provides. The headlong rush of “Hope” left Cannes awed, befuddled and thrilled by Na’s bonkers would-be international blockbuster.

The day John Lennon was shot in 1980, he and Yoko Ono gave an interview to a San Francisco radio crew from their home in New York’s Dakota Apartments. In “John Lennon: The Last Interview,” Steven Soderbergh pp those surviving tapes into a new documentary that debuted Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival. But his decision to fill in some visuals using Meta's AI software has prompted an outcry. One of America’s leading filmmakers was using AI? In a film about a Beatle, no less? Soderbergh has placed himself at the forefront of an industrywide debate about the uses of AI in moviemaking. But for him, it’s a conversation he’s eager to have.

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The 79th Cannes Film Festival is underway with politics, artificial intelligence and the shifting priorities of Hollywood taking center stage at the global film gathering. The festival paid tribute to Peter Jackson in the opening ceremony, giving the “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker an honorary Palme d'Or. Jane Fonda and Gong Li officially opened the festival, with Fonda declaring: “Cinema has always been an act of resistance.” It was a fitting observation for a film festival where politics has taken center stage. The festival hands out the awards on May 23.

The 79th Cannes Film Festival has kicked off. Tuesday marked the start of 12 days of nonstop premieres that will culminate on May 23 with the presentation of the prestigious Palme d’Or prize. The festival's first day was eventful. Peter Jackson was given an honorary Palme d'Or. The festival was declared open by Jane Fonda and Gong Li. Talk of politics and artificial intelligence dominated the introduction of the jury. Guillermo del Toro presented a restored “Pan's Labyrinth.” And James Franco, largely left out in Hollywood, walked the red carpet.